Document(s) 4 of 10

Communication tools and the planning process

Until now we have gone through a planning process which starts with identifying specific groups, their communication needs and objectives, and goes on to identify communication activities and then communication tools.

Telling stories with photographs: here farmers use communication tools to express and share their experiences. The photographs show the process they have experimented for improving their soil, using a combination of local and modern knowledge.

The process is different from when people say, “we’re going to do a video, or a radio program, or a play”, without knowing exactly what contribution it will make to the initiative.

Here, we want to respond to specific communication needs. We identify the communication objectives we want to attain and communication activities are developed for that purpose. Now the communication tools we are going to use in those activities are exactly that: tools. They are not the “product” or the “output”. We use them to help to achieve the communication objectives we are pursuing with each category of stakeholders we are working with in the community.

The expression “Communication Tools”
Everyone is familiar with the notion of communication “media”. Generally, we distinguish between the mass media (newspapers, radio, television), the traditional media (storytelling, theatres, songs), “group” media (video, photographs, posters), and community media such as short-range rural radio broadcasting.

The media, and the different forms of interpersonal communication, are our communication tools.

If we use the expression “communication tools” here, it is to stress the instrumental nature of these media: their purpose in this case is not to disseminate information, but rather to support the process of participatory communication.

In that perspective it is important to choose those communication tools which will support two-way communication and which are in relation with what we want to do and the people we want to work with.

What should we consider in selecting communication tools?

In selecting the appropriate communication tools, we need to consider three essential criteria:

CRITERION 1: COMMUNITY USE

Whenever possible, rely on the communication tools already in use in the local community for exchanging information and points of view or the ones they are most comfortable with.

Remember that we are not working anymore with a view to disseminate information and knowledge from a resource person (researcher or expert) to community members, but to facilitate the realization of the set of actions they decided to implement or experiment with, at the beginning of the planning process.

For example, the goal will not consist in producing a video to explain a given technology to a community but to use it as a tool for community members to discuss their own experiences with it and share their learning.

Also, whenever there is a learning situation, the use of communication tools should go hand in hand with what we have learned from adult education: we should always start from the

experiences of people and we should try to build an active learning experience.

CRITERION 2: COST

Consider the cost of using the tools, the time needed to prepare the materials and the technical environment in which they are to be used (availability of electricity, appropriate premises, accessibility to participants, etc.).

A research team may think that community members would benefit from the use of local radio, but if this radio does not exist, it may not be the right option, considering those criteria. Or the costs involved in producing radio programs may be too high for the available resources.

CRITERION 3: KIND OF UTILIZATION

Select communication tools in the light of the different kinds of utilization.

Some user notes presenting some communication tools and their selection based on these criteria are presented in part 3 of this guide.

Document(s) 4 of 10